BOU Officials Grilled over 23 Land Titles of Teefe Trust Bank

Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) have questioned Bank of Uganda top management about the fate of the 23 land titles and other securities previously owned by the defunct TEEFE Trust Bank.

In their interface on Friday morning, the MPs realized that the Central Bank has kept the 23 titles as securities for the last 25 years and that the said titles no longer hold the legal status as securities.

The matter was raised by Kashari County MP Nathan Itungo and later emphasized by the committee Chairman, Abdu Katuntu who tasked the Governor of Bank of Uganda, Prof Emmanuel Mutebile to explain the fate of the titles and why they were kept all this long.

“These are land titles and they have been in your safe custody for now 23 years. The process seems like concluded yet it is not concluded. We should know the fate now of the sureties of the defunct banks,” Katuntu said.

In his response, Mutebile said he did not know whether the titles even ever existed, “I would not have known those actually existed.”

Magaret Kaggwa, the legal counsel to Bank of Uganda said she was not in position to answer the question as it was an ambush that she needed time to think and respond to.

Meanwhile, Bank of Uganda officials revealed that they have so far made payments to a tune of Shs 336m out of standing figure of Shs 384m to the then depositors with TEEFE Trust Bank. A balance of Shs 48m remains to be claimed.

However, MPs wondered why the amount the said depositors had on the account at the time has not accumulated given the interest over the last 25 years since the closure of the bank.